• Welcome
    • Purpose
    • Statement of Faith
  • My Apology
  • TESTIMONY
    • English
    • Chinese Translation
    • Dutch Translation
    • French Translation
    • German Translation
    • Italian Translation
    • Portuguese Translation
    • Russian Translation
    • Spanish Translation
    • Turkish Translation
  • READY OR NOT...
  • My Story - Videos
    • In His Own Words
    • Video Interviews
    • Written Interviews
    • Son of Hope Gospel Tract
  • Journal
    • 2022 >
      • January 2022
      • February 2022
      • March 2022
      • April 2022
      • *May 2022
      • *June 2022
    • 2021 >
      • January 2021
      • February 2021
      • March 2021
      • April 2021
      • May 2021
      • June 2021
      • July 2021
      • August 2021
      • September 2021
      • October 2021
      • November 2021
      • December 2021
    • 2020 >
      • January 2020
      • February 2020
      • March 2020
      • April 2020
      • May 2020
      • June 2020
      • July 2020
      • August 2020
      • September 2020
      • October 2020
      • November 2020
      • December 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2014-2005
  • Updates
  • For Parents and Students
    • General Advice for Parents
    • Advice For Troubled Teens
    • School Projects
    • Jailhouse Interview
    • A Letter to David from Youth Minister Dan Bailey
    • Suicide is Everyone's Business
    • What is Prison All About?
  • For Satanists
    • A Letter to a Satanist
    • Carl Sartor's Story
    • Satan's Bible
    • Jailhouse Interview
  • A Letter to a Soldier
  • Ministry Tools
  • Insights and Miscellaneous
    • A Letter to North Shore Baptist Church
    • Jesus Christ, the True Treasure and Pearl of Great Price!
    • He Knows Your Name
  • Parole Hearing Transcript 2016
  • Friends
  • Inspirational Testimonies
    • Tracey Anne's Testimony
  • Contact
  • Welcome
    • Purpose
    • Statement of Faith
  • My Apology
  • TESTIMONY
    • English
    • Chinese Translation
    • Dutch Translation
    • French Translation
    • German Translation
    • Italian Translation
    • Portuguese Translation
    • Russian Translation
    • Spanish Translation
    • Turkish Translation
  • READY OR NOT...
  • My Story - Videos
    • In His Own Words
    • Video Interviews
    • Written Interviews
    • Son of Hope Gospel Tract
  • Journal
    • 2022 >
      • January 2022
      • February 2022
      • March 2022
      • April 2022
      • *May 2022
      • *June 2022
    • 2021 >
      • January 2021
      • February 2021
      • March 2021
      • April 2021
      • May 2021
      • June 2021
      • July 2021
      • August 2021
      • September 2021
      • October 2021
      • November 2021
      • December 2021
    • 2020 >
      • January 2020
      • February 2020
      • March 2020
      • April 2020
      • May 2020
      • June 2020
      • July 2020
      • August 2020
      • September 2020
      • October 2020
      • November 2020
      • December 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2014-2005
  • Updates
  • For Parents and Students
    • General Advice for Parents
    • Advice For Troubled Teens
    • School Projects
    • Jailhouse Interview
    • A Letter to David from Youth Minister Dan Bailey
    • Suicide is Everyone's Business
    • What is Prison All About?
  • For Satanists
    • A Letter to a Satanist
    • Carl Sartor's Story
    • Satan's Bible
    • Jailhouse Interview
  • A Letter to a Soldier
  • Ministry Tools
  • Insights and Miscellaneous
    • A Letter to North Shore Baptist Church
    • Jesus Christ, the True Treasure and Pearl of Great Price!
    • He Knows Your Name
  • Parole Hearing Transcript 2016
  • Friends
  • Inspirational Testimonies
    • Tracey Anne's Testimony
  • Contact
AriseandShine.org

February 2016

The Crown of Life

2/22/2016

 
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried,
he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised
to them that love Him.
James 1:12

Yesterday I was asked to give the sermon as our scheduled ministry group did not come...
I always try to be prepared whenever situations like this happen. Fortunately the Lord was with me, as He always is, even when I'm not as prepared as I should be.

I spoke on the "fiery trials" we so often have to face as believers in Jesus. That such trials and difficulties not only test the level of faith we have, and the quality of it - we're all works in progress - but they also serve to earn us rewards in heaven. Faithfulness under fire and enduring hardship is always worth it, I told the men, both for today, and for the future when we're in heaven.

I explained as simply as I could, that our trials help to shape and perfect us into the likeness of our Lord. They serve to build character, too. How Christ, handled His difficult challenges and trials, which were many, is just how we're to handle them - Trusting God the Father to provide for us the wisdom and strength necessary to overcome an adverse situation, and asking God to help us live in accordance with the Scriptures. The Bible is our guide tor daily living; it's our Owner's Manual.


"The Lord will never give us more than we could handle," I declared. But I added that there are times when we may fail to remain faithful and quit. That we think we've blown it. "But the Lord," I said, "is full of abundant mercy and compassion. He won't give up on us, and He will allow us to start again; to pick up our cross once more."

I used the illustration of GED exam - the General Equivalency Diploma that's offered to those who failed for
whatever reasons to get a high school diploma in the past. How that getting one's GED is a good and useful thing to do. However, as many of them could agree, it would often take two or more attempts before the exam is finally passed. I got a lot of "Amens!" for this, as some of these brothers had to take the GED exam four or five times over the course of several years before they passed. I then asked the men if those who had quit after having failed the first, second or third time had quit altogether. I could tell from the many nods I saw that they got the point. A Christian must not quit!

I finished the message by talking about one's future rewards in heaven, or lack thereof. That if we remain faithful to the Lord and persevere under whatever trials we may face in our lifetimes, the Lord Jesus will have rewards awaiting us. This is not an insignificant matter as there is much in the Scriptures regarding a believer's crowns and rewards.

The Crown of Life, I told the men, is not for our glory. It's for the Lord's glory as a sign of His faithfulness to keep His children in our times of trial and testing.

D. B.




Comments are closed.

    Author

    ​David Berkowitz
    Copyright © AriseandShine.Org

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly